Device for removing casing from oil-wells



B. -MASSETH- DEVICE POR REMOVNGUASING PROM OIL WELLS. No. 367,822.

(No Model.)

Patented Aug. 9, 1887.

N. Femm Pnnwumognphu. wan-iugm. D. c.

UNITED STATES APATEhVr OFFICE,

BENJAMIN MASSETII, OF KARNS CITY, PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVICEVFOR REIVI'OVING CASING FROM OIL-WELLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 367,822, dated August9, 1887. Application filed January 19, 1887. Serial No. 224,771. i (Nomodul.)

.To all whom,` it may concern:

Beit known that I, BENJAMIN Mnssnrn, of Karns City, in the county ofButler and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Devices for Removing Casing from Oil-Wells; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof.

My invention relates to a device for removing casing from oil and gaswells or deep Artesian wells.

\ packed therein.

In drilling oil-wells it is the practice to insert within them longlines of casing consisting of pipeesections screwed together. Thiscasing extends below the water-Veins, and is fixed at its base orpacked, so as to exclude the water from the hole below. The casing isoften verylong-from six hundred to two thousand feet--and when it has tobe removed, either lfor the purpose of repacking or readjustment, orbecause the well has been abandoned, there is a very considerabledificulty in lifting it on account 0f its great weigh t. The derrickmust generally be strengthened to stand the strain, and thelifting-tools must be of great size and strength. Besides this, thelabor of handling such heavy tools and materials extends the time andcost of the work.

My invention has for its object to facilitate the raising of casing, andthereby to reduce the cost and labor of the operation. In addition tothe power of the lifting mechanism, I employ the buoyant force of thewater in the hole to assist in the work. I do this by plugging u'p thelower end of the casing, thereby converting it into a hollow vessel openat the top, and after pumping out the water inside the casing and abovethe plug the external `water tends to raise the thus lightenedcasing,and so reduces the power necessary to be employed to a very greatdegree. This is a general description of the practice of my invention.'I shall now describe it inY detail, and sh all refer to the accompanyingdrawings, which illustrate the apparatus which I prefer to employ.

In the drawings,Figure1 is a side View ofthe apparatus shown in anoil-well casing, but not Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal axialsection of the apparatus,differing from Fig. 1 in that the lifting-tool12 is shown connected.

Like symbols of reference indicate like parts in each.

In the drawings, 2 represents the well-casing, which is placed in thewell and packed in the usual way. Inside the casing I show the devicewhich I employ for plugging the lower end of the casing. It consists ofa short tube, 4, of smaller diameter than the casing, so as to be easilyinsertible therein, and it is provided with a suitable packing device,by means of which, when the tube is put in the casing at the properpoint, the space between its outside and the inside of the casing may betightly sealed. Any suitable form of packer proper for this purposemaybe used. Ishow in the drawings the packer known as the Gordon packer,which was patented to J. l?. Gordon on October 16, 1877. This packer isconstructed and operates as follows: At the base of the tube 4 isscrewed a hollow cone, 5, whose external surface is corrugated and whosebase is lowermost. On this coneis placed the annular packer ring 6, madeof rubber or leather, and above this, loosely encircling thc tube 4, isa metal ring, 7, conical on its outer surface and with its base restingon the rubber packer.

Above the ring 7 on the tube 4 is a loose ring or collar, 9, from thelower end of which extend vertical elastic metal arms 10, which carry attheir bases barbed wedges 11, which normally lie in contact with theouter surface ofthe ring 7. ToV apply this packing device to a casing,it is lowered therein by suitable tools to the proper position, andwhile it is being lowered the friction of the sides of the casing uponthe barbs 11 sustains the collar 9 considerably Yabove the packer. Vhenthe proper position has been reached, the tube 4 is drawn upward.' Thiscauses the barbs 11 to catch on the sides of the casing and causes thearms l() to slip down over the ring 7 and to become wedged between itand the inside ofthe casing, thus exerting a downward pressure thereon.This downward pressure is also exerted on the packer 6 at the base ofthe ring, whereby the packer is forced down over the corrugated cone 5and is expanded outwardly against the casing, so as to completely closeICO the space between the easing and the tube. rlhe upper end of thetube 4 is closed by a cap, 14, screwed thereto and having on its uppersurface a eoncavity, b, for receiving the tool 12, whereby the tube islet down into'the easing. The lower end of the tool is shown in Fig. 1.lts end is shaped to fit within the cavity I), and has holes e, intowhich iit pins inserted through holes b' of the cap 14. These pins aremade of frangible material, preferably hickory wood, and are strongenough to sustain the weight of the tube 4 when it is being lowered intothe casing, but are capable of being broken when it is desired todisconnect the tube from the tool. \Vhen the tube is placed in thecasing and packed, as above described, the pins may be easily broken andthe tool disconnected by jarring, in the usual way. By the presence ofthe cap sealing the lube4, all communication from one side ot' thepacking to the other in the easing is shut oif completely when thepacker is set.

Having now described in detail the construction and operation of theparts of the apparatus which l employ, I shall now set forth the mannerin which theyare used in thepractice of my invention.

When it is desired to withdraw a easing from a well, the irst step inthe process is to loosen the easing by cutting or jarring. This admitswater into the well and the interior of the easing from the upperwaterveins. The tube 4 is then let down lo the bottom of the easing bythe tool 12, and is packed there, as before described. After it has beenpacked the connection of the tool 12 with the cap at the top of the tube4 is broken by jarring, and the tool is withdrawn. The easing is now avessel open at the top and closed tightly at the bottom, so that whenthe water is pumped out of it, which is the next step in the process,the external water surrounding the casing raises it or tends to raise itfrom the well, so that when the lifting mechanism is applied to it thelabor is very much lessened and the easing is easily drawn ont.

The advantages which are derived from the practice of my invention areverygreat. rIhe cost and labor of removing easings is lessened, and thetools used are much less liable to 5o break than when the casing islifted in the manner heretofore practiced.

I do not limit myself strictly to the precise form of device forplugging the casing hereinbefore described, since other forms willsuggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

I claim- 1. rlhe method herei nbefore described of removing easing fromdeep wells, which consists in plugging the lower part ofthe easing, 6owhereby water is excluded therefrom, and subjecting the casing whenempty to external hydrostatic pressure, whereby an upward force isexerted on the easing, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. rlhe method hereinbefore described of removing easing from deepwells, consisting iu plugging the lower part of the casing after waterhas been admitted within and exterior to the casing and then removingthe water 7o from the easing above the plug, substantially as and forthe purposes described.

3. The method hereinbcfore described of re moving casing from deepwells, consisting in inserting into the easing a plug providedwith anexpansiblc packer, expanding the packer to plug the easing, andsubjecting the easing to external hydrostatic pressure, substantially asand for the purposes described.

4. As a device for pluggingadeep-well cas- 8o ing, the combination, withthe casing, of the tube 4, closed and having an external packer,substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. The tube 4, having a socket at its upper end and having an externalpacker, in combination with a tool iusertible into the socket, and afraugible connection between the tube and the tool, substantially as andfor the pur poses described.

ln testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand this 12th day ofJanuary, A.. D. 1887.

BENJAMIN VMASSETH.

Vi t n esses THoMAs W. lAiiwnLL, XV. B. CoRwIN.

